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Article

Thermodynamics of evolution

DEC 01, 1972
The ideas of nonequilibrium order and of the search for stability extend Darwin’s concept back to the prebiotic stage by redefining the “fittest”
Llya Prigogine
Gregoire Nicolis
Agnes Babloyantz

We have seen that the formation and maintenance of self‐organizing systems are compatible with the laws of physical chemistry. We must now confront this idea with the major problem of biology: How did biological systems arise?

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References

  1. 1. C. Woese, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (US) 59, 110 (1968).https://doi.org/PNASA6

  2. 2. W. M. Huang, P. O. P. Ts’o, J. Mel. Biol. 16, 523 (1966).

  3. 3. J. E. Sulston, R. Lohrmann, L. E. Orgel, H. T. Miles, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (US) 59, 726 (1968).https://doi.org/PNASA6

  4. 4. A. Babloyantz, Biopolymers, to be published.

  5. 5. M. Paecht‐Horwitz, J. Berger, A. Katchalsky, Nature 228, 636 (1970).https://doi.org/NATUAS

  6. 6. M. Eigen, Naturwiss. 58, 465 (1971).https://doi.org/NATWAY

  7. 7. M. Eigen, P. Schuster, to be published (1972).

  8. 8. A. Babloyantz, G. Nicolis, unpublished result.

  9. 9. N. Minorsky, Nonlinear Oscillations, Van Nostrand, Princeton (1962).

  10. 10. A. Goldbeter, G. Nicolis, Biophysik 8, 212 (1972).

  11. 11. K. S. Trincher, Biology and Information, Consultants Bureau, New York (1965).

More about the authors

Llya Prigogine, University of Texas, Austin.

Gregoire Nicolis, Chargé de cours, Brussels.

Agnes Babloyantz, Chef de travaux, Brussels.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 25, Number 12

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